Christine Kelly ENG 368 Take Home Final Running two half marathons1, I learned more about myself

than I ever thought possible. As the miles passed2, I began to enjoy running more and more. This was my chance to really let go, to look inside myself and see what I was made of. Throughout the training process, I encountered many challenges and was forced to work even harder to overcome them. Time conflicting, self-doubting, and physically fatiguing3, each half marathon took over my life for about 12 weeks. Finishing school work, along with having a social life, became increasingly harder with the accumulating miles I had to run. I had to map out my weekly schedule based solely on classes and running. There were many instances where I just wanted to take the day off, or where I didnt think that I would be able to finish those 13 miles, nonetheless beat my previous time. If I had to choose one particular reason why I doubted myself, it would be that my body was both physically and mentally exhausted. To overcome such challenges4, I had to reach inside and recover my confidence. Instead of giving up, I decided to make myself physically stronger. In the gym, 5 I added a weight lifting and strength-training regimen to my many miles of running. By being physically stronger, I was able to diminish my insecurities and regain the confidence

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needed in order to succeed in such an intimidating task. My family helped make this task much more manageable by serving as my support system. They even drove four hours to watch me race. Their efforts made me work even harder because it was clear that they truly believed in me. I ran my first race, which took place in Plattsburgh, NY6, with two of my girlfriends. We ran the entire race without listening to any music, but instead only listening to each others staggered breathing. Their words of encouragement carried me through the longest, hardest last mile of my life. My second race, in Peru, NY, took challenging to a whole new level. Despite an abundance of hills in the course and running the race by myself, this was the best race Ive ever run. I was able to reach my goal by beating my previous time, and at that moment I knew that all of my hard work and dedication had paid off. Each race was a different experience for me, but they both made me realize what I was capable of. Not only did I increase my self-confidence, but also my drive for continuing to compete. I strive to push myself harder in order to continue beating my time. With so much time dedicated to running, I have finally found my outlet. Stress has become manageable for me through running. Each day, I look forward to pounding out my frustrations on the pavement while being able to get lost in my thoughts, theres nothing better.

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